The Edoni (also ''Edones'', ''Edonians'', ''Edonides'') ( el, Ἠδωνιοί) were a

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

people who dwelt mostly between the Nestus and the Strymon rivers in southern

Thrace Thrace (; el, Θράκη, Thráki; bg, Тракия, Trakiya; tr, Trakya) or Thrake is a geographical and historical region in Southeast Europe, now split among Bulgaria, Greece, and Turkey, which is bounded by the Balkan Mountains to ...

, but also once dwelt west of the Strymon at least as far as the Axios. They inhabited the region of Mygdonia before the

Macedon Macedonia (; grc-gre, Μακεδονία), also called Macedon (), was an ancient kingdom on the periphery of Archaic and Classical Greece, and later the dominant state of Hellenistic Greece. The kingdom was founded and initially ruled b ...

ians drove them out. After that, they settled in the region of

Edonis The B Engineering Edonis is a sports car developed in the year 2000 and manufactured by Italian automobile manufacturer B Engineering with overall engineering by Nicola Materazzi (ex Lancia, Ferrari & Bugatti) and styling by Marc Deschamps ( ...

which was named after them. There were a number of Edonian cities in the Classical era, including Drabeskos and Myrkinos.

History

The strategically important

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

colony of Ennea Hodoi ("Nine Ways", later

Amphipolis Amphipolis ( ell, Αμφίπολη, translit=Amfipoli; grc, Ἀμφίπολις, translit=Amphipolis) is a municipality in the Serres regional unit, Macedonia, Greece. The seat of the municipality is Rodolivos. It was an important ancient Gr ...

) was taken by the Edonians shortly after the Persian Empire was driven from the area. The Edoni and the nearby Thracians defeated a massive

Ionian Ionic or Ionian may refer to: Arts and entertainment * Ionic meter, a poetic metre in ancient Greek and Latin poetry * Ionian mode, a musical mode or a diatonic scale Places and peoples * Ionian, of or from Ionia, an ancient region in western ...

invasion led by Athens 32 years later. The Athenians and their allies advanced far up the Angitis valley toward Drabescus before they were cut off and completely destroyed, losing 10,000 killed in the disaster. Athens wrested control of Amphipolis from the Edonians just prior to the Peloponnesian War.

Brasidas Brasidas ( el, Βρασίδας, died 422 BC) was the most distinguished Spartan officer during the first decade of the Peloponnesian War who fought in battle of Amphipolis and Pylos. He died during the Second Battle of Amphipolis while winning ...

liberated the city during that conflict and after a pro-

Lacedaemon Sparta ( Doric Greek: Σπάρτα, ''Spártā''; Attic Greek: Σπάρτη, ''Spártē'') was a prominent city-state in Laconia, in ancient Greece. In antiquity, the city-state was known as Lacedaemon (, ), while the name Sparta referred ...

ian coup d'état the Edonians became his allies. They made up most of his army when he defeated

Cleon Cleon (; grc-gre, wikt:Κλέων, Κλέων, ; died 422 BC) was an Classical Athens, Athenian strategos, general during the Peloponnesian War. He was the first prominent representative of the commercial class in Athenian politics, although he w ...

's offensive.

Mythology

Edonus, was the mythical ancestor of the Edones. Lycurgus, son of Dryas, was a mythical king of the Edoni, who drove

Dionysus In ancient Greek religion and myth, Dionysus (; grc, Διόνυσος ) is the god of the grape-harvest, winemaking, orchards and fruit, vegetation, fertility, insanity, ritual madness, religious ecstasy, festivity, and theatre. The Romans ...

into exile in the

Cyclades The Cyclades (; el, Κυκλάδες, ) are an island group in the Aegean Sea, southeast of mainland Greece and a former administrative prefecture of Greece. They are one of the island groups which constitute the Aegean archipelago. The na ...

but was ultimately overthrown and killed by his own people. The conflict began with Lycurgus' opposition to either the drinking of wine or the worship of the new god. Lycurgus was based at the mouth of the Strymon River around Amphipolis. According to one version of the story, he was imprisoned at Mt. Pangaeum by the Edoni and then torn apart by his horses on Dionysius' orders. The Edoni were celebrated for their orgiastic worship of Bacchus (

). In

Latin Latin (, or , ) is a classical language belonging to the Italic branch of the Indo-European languages. Latin was originally a dialect spoken in the lower Tiber area (then known as Latium) around present-day Rome, but through the power ...

poems, the term ''Edonis'' signified a female

Bacchanal The Bacchanalia were unofficial, privately funded popular Roman festivals of Bacchus, based on various ecstatic elements of the Greek Dionysia. They were almost certainly associated with Rome's native cult of Liber, and probably arrived in Rome ...

. The Peresadyes,''The Cambridge Ancient History'': The fourth century B.C.
/ref> forerunners of the dynasty of Bardyllis that ruled over the Dardanii, were most likely Edones.

History

Mythology

References

See also